


Spaghetti Is Good, But Your Heart Is Better

by boats_birds, ShipThePuppy



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Boyband AU, Chapter 2 is a playlist, Dorks, Himuro Tatsuya: Troll King, M/M, They're both just dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 12:25:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5248217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boats_birds/pseuds/boats_birds, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShipThePuppy/pseuds/ShipThePuppy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Kagami Taiga attempts to woo famous boyband member Kuroko Tetsuya with the world’s most awkwardly endearing spaghetti dinner, Kuroko and his band members have made incorrect assumptions about Kagami and Furihata’s relationship, and Himuro is the world’s biggest troll without even being present.</p><p>(A roleplay by myself and boats_birds, aka Tetsucchin on Tumblr. I was Kuroko and she was Kagami. Re-formatted for posting.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yo if you like this check out more of boats_birds' stuff cause HOT DAMN YA'LL SHE'S SO GOOD AT THE KAGAKUROS AND THE KUROKAGAS AND THE YEEEEEEES.

**_IMPORTANT INFORMATION UP TO THIS POINT NECESSARY FOR CONTEXT:_ **

–This takes place after what, if equivocated, is pretty much the ‘Teikou arc’ of this AU, but the majority of the issues have been resolved. (Example, they had a bad manager that pushed them to be all about the money and not the music, Kuroko almost quit the band, everyone became selfish, etc.) So everybody gets along now. 

–Furihata is the band’s songwriter that gets hired on afterword.

–Kagami meets the band through Furihata, a school friend he reunites with at one of their concerts after Alex drags him and Himuro to it. 

–Upon discovering they both had crushes on someone in the band, Kagami and Furihata began teasing each other and hanging out a lot to bemoan their crushes on these beloved boys.

–As a result, the band has assumed that Kagami and Furihata are totally in love with each other, (emotionally taken, emotionally married, etc) but for some reason are dancing around it and not confessing.

–This roleplay takes place during the dinner Himuro convinces Kagami to invite Kuroko to.

–Yes, the band’s name is Kiseki. (Very original, I know.)

–Momoi is their manager.

_********* _

_Perfect_.  
  
Kagami straightened the last candle in the silver candelabrum, looking over his work with approval in his smile. The candles were in place, center of the table, rose petals scattered across the surface, and the dishware was in its proper setting. A few last finishing touches, and it would be  _perfect_. Just like Tatsuya had told him.  
  
He glanced at the clock from the corner of his eye, and instantly regretted it.  
  
“Shit! He’s supposed to be here in ten minutes, and I don’t even have the music ready!” he almost shrieked, panic lacing his already nervous voice. But he had this,  _he had this_. He did everything Tatsuya had told him, from the dinner, to the music, to the notecards he had in case of a conversation emergency. Tonight would be perfect, it just  _had_  to be.  
  
Pale blue hair and big blue eyes flashed through his mind, and he nearly doubled over with the butterflies pounding his stomach. He didn’t have this. Honestly, how was he supposed to  _not_ be nervous when he had a date with  _the_ Kuroko Tetsuya?  
  
He began rushing around his rather spacious apartment, grabbing things here and there to put away, flipping light switches and lighting candles to make a better atmosphere. “Gotta hurry, gotta hurry. Gotta check the spaghetti. Gotta have the rose petals in the hall ready if I need a trail to the bedroom.”  
  
As he shifted the temperature on the stove and stirred the spaghetti sitting on top, he realized he was as ready as he was going to be. Which is to say, not very ready at all. Was this how everyone felt on dates? Like they were gonna float away and fall to the floor at the same time?  
  
The clock chimed, a dull ring that echoed for what seemed like eternity. Oh God, it was time. What if the table wasn’t set right? What if the candles caught the table on fire? What if the music was too loud?  
  
He froze.  
  
_The music.  
_  
Rushing and almost sliding on stray rose petals, he quickly popped in the mixed CD Tatsuya had made for him, flipping through to the right track.  _Bella Notte_ drifted quietly in the air, and as he turned to check his work one last time, he heard a quiet knock on the door.  
  
Oh no, that was definitely his heart that just dropped to his stomach. He couldn’t even tell if Kuroko was still knocking on the door or if that was his heart hammering in his chest. But there was no backing out now. He had everything set up just like he was told, this would be perfect. He kept the mantra in his head as he shakily walked to the door.  
  
With that thought, he twisted the doorknob and jerked the door open, nearly smacking himself in the face with it in the process.

*****

Kuroko didn’t know why he was letting himself get so worked up.  
  
Blank faced, he placed a hand over his heart, which insisted on beating faster than normal, and took a deep breath. He glanced down at himself. Light blue button up, tight black jeans, dark red converse. Formal enough to be called dressed-up, but laid-back enough to be casual.   
  
It was ridiculous the amount of time he’d spent staring flatly into his closet trying to pick something, and he  _still_  wasn’t sure his shoes went with the ensemble.   
  
What was even  _more_ ridiculous was the fact that he’d worried about it at all.  
  
Expression calm, he raised his hand to knock on Kagami’s door, a tiny practiced smile on his face. Kagami had invited him as a friend; he was here as a  _friend._  The more he remembered that, the better. This wasn’t a date. Kagami was dating Furihata emotionally, after all, even if they hadn’t declared it officially yet. And Furihata-kun was his friend.   
  
If they made each other happy, he wouldn’t stand in their way.  
  
(Even if it made his throat knot and his chest burn whenever he saw them together.)  
  
The door opened, and Kuroko’s tiny, polite smile reasserted itself. He opened his mouth to give his greetings, but the words died on his tongue as he took sight of Kagami.  
  
“…Kagami-kun, are you wearing a tiger-print apron?”  
  
*****

  
… _Shit_.  
  
“N-no!” As quickly as he could, his face burning red, he reached to untie the knot holding the apron in place on his back. Even as it got caught a few times, he tugged until it came loose and jerked the apron off before tossing it to a corner of the room.  
  
He stared down at Kuroko, his face so hot it was surely melting, and nearly reached out to grab hold of that small head when he saw a twitch of amusement on Kuroko’s lips.  
  
“Shut up and get in, Kuroko!” he tried to say calmly, but he was positive his embarrassment colored every note of his voice.  
  
Standing to the side, he opened to the door wider for those small shoulders, and couldn’t stop his eyes tracing down his outfit. It wasn’t fair that he looked so good, it really wasn’t. Was this just like part of his job description or something, to be beautiful? But Kagami couldn’t even be jealous, because damn, those pants looked  _nice_.  
  
Kagami glanced down at his own dark red shirt and loose-fitting jeans. Tatsuya had told him to go casual (something about a friendly atmosphere) but now he felt oddly out of place. With a tiger-print apron on top of all. He resisted the urge to smack the humiliation out of himself.   
  
He scrubbed a hand over his face before clearing his throat awkwardly, shuffling in place, “You, uh, you look nice.”

*****  
  
Kuroko wondered how Kagami had even noticed his amusement. The corner of his lip twitched ever-so-slightly, and he walked inside at Kagami’s behest. He politely slipped his shoes off, black socks fitted comfortably to his feet and bunching at the ankles a bit.   
  
He looked around, curious at the sound of music. Was that English he heard? It sounded vaguely familiar for some reason. He was contemplating why that was when Kagami’s comment filtered through. The tips of his ears became flushed, and he hoped they were hidden well-enough by his air.   
  
Kuroko looked Kagami over as well, eyes lingering for a split-second on the long line of exposed neck the shirt left unguarded, admiring the strong lines leading up to Kagami’s jaw.   
  
“You also look good,” he complimented, and meant it. Even those baggie jeans, worn and obviously well-loved if the few mends he could spot in the fabric meant anything, gave Kagami a look of handsome, casual comfort.  
  
He tore his eyes away, the newly common mantra of ‘ _he’s emotionally married, he’s emotionally married’_  repeating itself in his mind. He took a sniff, then raised his nose a bit when he found it to be pleasant. His eyes lidded slightly. “That smells good, Kagami-kun. What is it?”

*****

His long limbs ambled towards the kitchen, his voice and loud footsteps echoing through the living room, “It’s just spaghetti. I haven’t made it in a long time, but I thought it might be…nice.”  
  
He tried his best to restrain the flush rising to his cheeks, but he was almost positive he resembled something close to the same shade as his spaghetti sauce. Maybe he could just blame it on the steam that rose from the saucepan as he removed the lid, giving it one last stir and a dash of salt.  
  
And all Kuroko had said was that he looked good. He felt more heat pool in his cheeks at the thought.  
  
Yeah, he was in way too deep.  
  
His mind was swimming so deep in a certain blue-eyed boy that he almost missed the slight sound of sizzling hitting his eardrums. It grew in intensity as his head swiveled around in confusion. His eyes finally landed on the source of the sound, a small pot boiling over with noodles and water.  
  
_…Shit, shit, shit_. “Shit, shit, shit!” That was definitely  _manly_ shrieking, maybe even the manliest shrieking.  
  
Grabbing the nearest dishcloth, he yanked the pot off the stove and flipped the burner off, cursing under his breath. Then he froze, and slowly turned to find those stupid blue eyes staring at him.  
  
_…Shit._

*****

Spaghetti, huh? He hadn’t had that in a long time. Kuroko followed Kagami to the kitchen. If it tasted anything like the bentous Kagami-kun had made the group in the past, he was looking forward to sampling such a meal. Upon entrance to the kitchen he watched Kagami approach the stove, and took the opportunity himself to glance around the room, idly curious why the lights seemed dimmed.  
  
That was when he spotted the table settings.   
  
…was that a candelabrum? Were those  _rose petals?_    
  
Kuroko stared blankly at the melting wax of the candles, his eyes shifting from them to the petals, to the obviously expensive dining set he was surprised Kagami-kun even owned, to the soft-looking ruby red tablecloth.   
  
This…did not look like dinner between friends.  
  
His heart thumped heavily with a sudden mixture of hope and trepidation. Spaghetti, Kagami-kun had said? Now that he thought about it, wasn’t that the staple meal of any cliché romantic dinner? The idea of  _Kagami-kun_  and  _romantic_ was wholly unfamiliar, but not unappealing. Until Furihata-kun’s wide smile and adoring support of Kuroko and the band creeped in from the edges of his conscience, and made his stomach twist painfully.  _Emotionally married, emotionally married._  
  
He told himself that this wasn’t the sort of thing Kagami-kun would do for a serious significant other. In fact, this looked like  _Kise-kun_  levels of over-the-top. Yes, Kuroko decided, that must have been it. Kise had likely heard about his and Kagami’s dinner plans and, probably goaded by Aomine, come over before his arrival to set this up for Kagami-kun as a means to tease Kuroko, without Kagami-kun being any the wiser of the implications. Kagami was usually endearingly air-headed enough that he would have bought whatever excuse Kise would have thrown at him, as well.   
  
Yes, he reaffirmed, that must have been it.  
  
The only other explanation left a bittersweet taste in his mouth, as it was.  
  
He opened his mouth to ask Kagami about Kise’s involvement, just to confirm his own deductions, when sizzling followed by girly shrieks of panic sounded by the stove, shoving his previous thoughts to the side for the moment. Blinking, Kuroko turned to see what was going on, just in time to see Kagami-kun taking the pot off the stove, muttering curses under his breath. As he watched, Kagami stiffened, turning slowly with a look of utmost trepidation while he held the pot carefully with a dishcloth.   
  
Internally surprised, Kuroko blinked, staring him blankly in the eye as his amusement tickled the edges of his tone. “Are you alright, Kagami-kun?”

*********

He blinked, his eyes boring into the blank gaze before him. The pot was a heavy weight in his hand as the silence stretched between them, breathing and faint sounds of food cooking the only thing heard.  
  
Then he nearly dropped the pot to the floor as he jumped, “When the hell did you get in here?!”  
  
Barely saving the dinner from what would be a tragic death on his kitchen tile, he placed it on a back burner and quickly switched the other burners off. The last thing he needed was that to happen again, but with tomato sauce everywhere. He tossed the dishcloth into the sink in frustration before raking a hand through his hair, messing what little order the shaggy strands had.  
  
How could he have ruined this already? He actually scored a date with Kuroko Tetsuya, who was not only famous but was probably perfect or something. Kuroko Tetsuya, who held his affection in his hand and didn’t even know it, though it grew every day, and surely it was big enough for everyone to see by now. And he ruined it. With spaghetti noodles.  
  
So much for a perfect dinner.  
  
Inhaling deeply through his nose to calm himself, he turned to face Kuroko. “I’m fine. Dinner should still be fine too. There’s breadst—”  
  
He quickly turned, grabbed an oven mitt (not even bothering to pay attention to the fact that it was covered in pictures of cats), and pulled the tray of breadsticks from the oven. Setting them on top to cool, he continued, “There’s breadsticks too. You want a drink? I’ll get us drinks.”  
  
He had almost reached past Kuroko to the fridge when  _Bella Notte_  came to its end, soon to be replaced by an old love ballad. He froze in his place, staring down at Kuroko unblinkingly.  
  
Did Tatsuya  _seriously_ put Celine Dion on that thing?

*****

“I followed you in here,” Kuroko said. He watched Kagami’s antics with his lips twitched in a tiny smile, and the moment he took to notice the kittens on Kagami’s oven mitt thrilled a tiny spot in him. (Because he hadn’t known Kagami-kun was a cat person, and learning little things like that always made warmth bubble in the bottom of his chest.)   
  
Kuroko stood next to the refrigerator door, and when Kagami reached for the handle he murmured, “Breadsticks are good,” just as the song changed from the CD that had been playing in the background.  
  
Kagami froze in front of him, and they stared at each other. Kuroko looked up at him, eyebrows slowly rising up his forehead. “Celine Dion, Kagami-kun?” he whispered conspiratorially. Had Kise picked the music, too? Kuroko pursed his lips tightly, attempting to hold back a smile.   
  
As he looked Kagami appeared to become more and more mortified, and Kuroko suddenly had a terrible idea. Though it would be borderline flirtation on his part, and therefore immoral considering Kagami-kun was  _emotionally taken_ , the excuse it would give him to touch Kagami was something he couldn’t pass up. Besides, he could always pass it off as a joke.  
  
Leaning forward through the two-foot distance between them, Kuroko placed his right hand on the middle of Kagami’s chest, his left hand resting atop Kagami’s right forearm as it hovered, still reaching for the refrigerator handle, at Kuroko’s left side.   
  
With little, teasing crinkles at the corners of his eyes, Kuroko softly began to sing, “ _Near, far, wherever you are, I believe that the heart does go on._ ”  
  
He tilted his head to the side, his lips quivering with the desire to chuckle, but he continued. “ _Once more, you opened the door, and you’re here in my heart and, my heart will go on._ ”  
  
After that it was too much, and he pulled away, hand leaving Kagami’s chest to curl into a fist in front of his mouth as he broke into small chuckles.

*****

Sometimes, Kagami thought (contrary to Aomine’s claims of him having no brain) that Kuroko just  _had_  to know what he did to people. He could stand there and blink all innocently if he wanted, but he  _had to know_  what he was doing when he was being a little shit.  
  
He had to damn well know what he was doing to Kagami’s heart, too.  
  
It was absolutely humiliating that Tatsuya had actually put Celine Dion on the CD he swore would set the mood, but then again, Tatsuya had never really had good taste in music. Kagami could understand guilty pleasure songs. Still, though,  _Celine Dion_  for your brother’s  _date_? That had to cross some sort of boundary.  
  
But when Kuroko placed one small, gentle hand on his chest and another on his arm, Kagami wanted to thank Tatsuya and Celine Dion and even Celine Dion’s mother.   
  
And if that weren’t already enough, Kuroko opened his mouth and a soft tone added to the song that spilled into his apartment.  
  
Kagami thought back to when he first heard that voice, when a flash of light blue hair had suddenly joined the rainbow crew on stage. He was nearly invisible, especially when compared to the showier styles and vocals of the other members, but Kagami had never seen anyone so damn beautiful. The way he moved, the way he sang was captivating, and he just looked  _natural_  in the shadow of the spotlights.  
  
When Kagami first heard him sing at that ridiculously overpriced and overcrowded concert that Alex dragged him and Tatsuya to, he thought it was amazing and wanted to hear it at another concert. Now, as Kuroko’s eyes crinkled in what he was realizing was mischief and amusement, he just wanted to hold him and hear him sing whatever stupid song he wanted as they fell asleep.  
  
He could sing the freaking alphabet if he wanted, as long as Kagami was the one he was singing to.  
  
He only noticed the hand over his throbbing heart had been removed (Had he felt how hard it pounded?) when those light giggles filtered through the high notes of the music in the background. Man, if that wasn’t a sound Kagami wanted to hear more of. It was so little and so happy and so  _Kuroko_  that he couldn’t help answering with his own grin and casually ruffled the sky-colored strands of hair.  
  
Then he realized something, and was gripping that head in his hand as gently as he could manage with his surprise. “What the hell, Kuroko?! You speak English?!”

*****

Kuroko lifted his chin to look up at the hand in his hair, and swallowed back his chuckles. He wrapped his fingers around the back of the hand’s wrist, two fingers hooked gently over the bony bump of the joint. How odd, he usually hated it when people ruffled his hair. Murasakibara was the worst culprit, his overly large hands too rough and just generally unpleasant. Aomine had tried it on occasion, but Kuroko had disliked it then as well, and Aomine had stopped doing it after a few jabs to the ribs with a well-placed elbow. (If only Murasakibara had been so easily deterred.)   
  
But Kagami-kun’s hand…Kuroko realized he actually  _liked_  the feeling of Kagami’s hand in his hair. The slight scrape of calluses on his scalp was more soothing than he anticipated, and when Kagami gripped he did it without the intention of causing real pain, just light tugs that sent pleasant shivers down Kuroko’s spine. Not to mention the warmth of his skin…  
  
“Only a little. It’s Celine Dion, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko replied, monotone voice coming out a little breathier than he’d anticipated. “A lot of people know her songs. They’re good for practicing vocal range.”   
  
As nice as the hand in his hair felt, it was testing Kuroko’s control in ways he wasn’t sure he would pass, especially with Kagami standing so close. Executing a little twist from one of their recent dance routines, with help from cleverly applied pressure to Kagami’s wrist, Kuroko slipped out from under Kagami’s arm and leaned briefly against the counter in his freedom. Glancing at Kagami from the corner of his eye, he pushed off the edge of the counter with his palms and sauntered to the table. He pulled out one of the chairs in front of a place setting and took a seat.   
  
In a fluid, practiced motion he swiveled so that he was sitting in his chair sideways. He leaned his elbow on the back of the wooden chair, and cupped his cheek in his palm. He blinked languidly, face set in an expression of polite inquiry. “Weren’t you getting drinks, Kagami-kun? I’m thirsty…and starting to get hungry. Breadsticks sound nice.“

*****

Kagami was almost certain that his jaw had dropped as Kuroko made himself comfortable at the table, wide gaze blinking slowly. If not, then it should have. Those were… _dance moves_ , right? The way Kuroko had twisted away from his reach and twirled to sit in his chair.  
  
… _Damn_.  
  
It wasn’t like how he was onstage. While performing, the rest of the colorful group had taken the center position, spotlight bright as they pivoted and moved in ways that made Kagami scowl and teenage girls scream. But Kuroko was different. He had stayed more to the back, made his place in the dark outline of the other members. Kagami remembered he hadn’t even _noticed_  there was a sixth member until about the third song.  
  
But  _here_ , here there were no lights for him to hide behind. There was just Kagami, a spaghetti dinner, and a chair that he was sure he would never look at the same way again.  
  
“H-huh?” His voice came out husky and he coughed to try to smooth it. “Right! Um, yeah, I’ll get drinks. Drinks are good. Breadsticks are good. Good.”  
  
He moved around in a daze, trying to get it the hell together and just serve their dinner already.  
  
He grabbed the pot of noodles, drained it of the water, and carried it over to plop a helping of pasta on each plate. Tossing a “Careful, it’s hot,” over his shoulder, he began arranging the breadsticks in the small, glass bowl Tatsuya had gave him. Like flowers in a vase, he’d told him, as if it was easy to make the stupid pieces of dough actually stand or even stay in the damn bowl. After finally getting them all in, he slowly, carefully tiptoed his way to set them on the table.  
  
But of course, the breadsticks couldn’t allow him even a grin of accomplishment, as one fell out and rolled across the tablecloth. He glared at it before grabbing it and throwing it back in the bowl. 

_Bread was not flowers, dammit, Tatsuya.  
_  
“Stupid bread,” he mumbled as he returned to the kitchen one last time, pouring the sauce into its own bowl and setting it next to the breadsticks, letting Kuroko get however much or little of it he wanted. He dropped into his own chair none too gently, wincing at the loud noise he made.  
  
He paused and glanced at blue eyes before nearly smacking himself. “Right, drinks. What would you like to drink?”

*****

_Kagami-kun was trying to kill him._

Kuroko came firmly to that conclusion as Kagami served their meal. In the years he’d been in Kiseki with his fellow members, he’d seen and been given many strange things.. A photo album filled with clippings of his noteworthy appearances throughout his career, with carefully written footnotes. A scarf made to look like octopus tentacles by a strange, but sweet fan. A five pound gummy bear that Aomine still swore haunted his dreams at night after his disastrous attempt at eating it in one go. Undergarments made of candy.

But a breadstick bouquet was not one of them.

Kuroko carefully shielded his lower face with his palm, and fought not to laugh under his breath. Kagami had obviously put a lot of effort into his attempts, and his pout was something Kuroko rarely got to see. (When his mind sought to wonder vaguely why Kagami would go to such lengths for a  _friend_ , he had to sternly ward those thoughts away with a reminder that Kagami was a nice person in general and would do such things for friends…also he was  _emotionally married_ and Kuroko really needed to stop thinking this way or he’d get the wrong idea.)

“Vanilla shake,” he answered automatically, turning to face forward in his chair, and dropping his hand now that he was more certain of his ability to hide his humor. Then he amended, “Water or apple juice would do as well. I don’t mind soft drinks either.” He tilted his head. “Unless Kagami-kun was thinking of having wine with our dinner?”

Kuroko momentarily pictured Kagami serving him apple juice in a wine glass, and had to sit very still so as not to betray his inner laughter.

He glanced at his plate, and noted the amount. Kagami had given himself his usual heap, the noodles almost spilling over the side of the plate. But for Kuroko, he’d given just the right amount, maybe a slight bit more. (He knew Kagami’s thoughts about how little he supposedly ate.) Still, the gesture was small, but thoughtful.

He picked up the folded cloth napkin from his place setting (that he was surprised Kagami-kun even owned, just like the tableware) and opened it over his lap for easy access. He spooned enough sauce for what he believed to be a proper balance, and then grabbed up a breadstick to distract himself. He nibbled the end, and paused at the buttery warmth that was unexpectedly delicious. He blinked, and murmured around the tip of the breadstick still pressed just inside his lips, “It’s good.”

*****

Pausing as he stood from his seat, the chair scraping across the floor noisily (he was going to have do something about these chairs, shit), his face heated in what he was realizing was normal for him around Kuroko. “Thanks. It’s the first time I’ve made spaghetti in a long time. I only make it on special occasions.”  
  
That was subtle, right? His mouth pulled back on one side and he ruffled Kuroko’s hair again as he walked by, “And quit laughing at my breadsticks.”   
  
Lumbering back to the kitchen, he glanced back to watch Kuroko as he took small bites of his food, and couldn’t help but smile. Honestly, with the napkin spread across his lap and the little noises he made while he ate that damn bread, he was somewhere between “adorable” and “refined”. Somehow, the mixture suited him, like most things did with Kuroko.  
  
As he opened his cabinet for two wine glasses and two smaller, crystal cups, he made a mental note to pick up ingredients for vanilla milkshakes next time he was at the store. Maybe he could invite Kuroko over for another date, and they could have homemade milkshakes. The cabinet slammed much harder than he intended, as the image of the two of them sharing one glass with two straws entered his mind.  
  
If he wasn’t in deep before, then milkshake-sharing was definitely a sign that his fate was sealed.  
  
He filled the two small tumblers with water from the fridge, grabbed them with one hand, and grabbed the two wine glasses and sparkling cider (much to Tatsuya’s disappointment; he’d really been insisting on the red wine) with the other. Careful not to spill anything, he came back and placed one set of drinks near Kuroko and one near his own plate.   
  
Placing the bottle of sparkling cider against the edge of the table, he hit the top to snap the lid off, a trick Alex had taught him (though at the time, he didn’t realize it was just so she could make him open her beers for her). He was pouring a generous amount for Kuroko, his tongue out in concentration, when he heard the opening chords of the next song.  
  
_Elton John? Was Tatsuya serious?!  
_  
He jumped, some reflex in him yelling to stop the song before it became even more embarrassing, before they ‘felt the love tonight’. But instead he just ended up spilling sparkling cider on the tablecloth in his floundering, and that same dumbass reflex told him to grab Kuroko’s own napkin from his lap to mop it up.  
  
“Shit, I’m sorry! I’m sorry, dammit!” This was really just his luck, wasn’t it?

*****

Special occasions? Kuroko glanced down at his plate. The longer this went on the more Kuroko was running out of reasons to say this dinner was purely friendly.

The feeling of Kagami’s hand in his hair once again made him look down at his plate, amazed and strangely shy that Kagami was able to read him so well. While his host prepared the drinks, Kuroko continued eating, trying the spaghetti itself and finding the noodles tender, and the sauce sweet with a mild tartness. There was a hint of some sort of herb in the sauce he couldn’t identify, that only added a pleasant, lingering flavor. All in all, he quite enjoyed it, and was reminded of the lunches Kagami sometimes made them on practice days. It would figure that Kagami’s culinary talents would extend to avenues outside of typical Japanese cuisine.

Kagami came back with the cider, and Kuroko watched curiously at the ease he opened the bottle with. He prepared to thank Kagami as he poured his drink (all the while noting how cute he was with his tongue out like that), when it happened.

Kuroko could have gone on for the rest of the night telling himself that the dinner was a good time spent between  _friends_  had it not happened—had the song not changed to Elton John, of all things, and had Kagami not reacted the way he had.

But the song had changed, and Kagami did react, and it was those things that sealed the course of their night.

The fluster in Kagami’s face as he wiped up the mess with Kuroko’s napkin—which he’d grabbed from Kuroko’s own lap—was too generous in its blush. The food was too extravagant and the atmosphere too suggestive for a mere night with a friend. The music was too themed, though it was becoming more apparent that Kagami hadn’t picked the songs if his reactions were anything to go by.

Pieces shifted on silent gears in Kuroko’s mind, coming together and locking in place with a resonant  _click_.

There were coincidences. There were pranks. And then there was intent.

This, Kuroko realized, was definitely intent.

Kagami-kun was trying to seduce him. His heart beat rapidly even as his stomach dropped to his feet. As much as he would love to welcome such attentions, the fact plainly stood that for all intents and purposes Kagami was taken, even if only emotionally and it wasn’t official because he and Furihata-kun had yet to confess to one another. Everyone in Kiseki knew that the two were pining for each other. Was this Kagami-kun’s way of giving up for some obscure reason? Was he trying to make Kuroko his rebound?

His beating heart and rolling stomach were slowly overshadowed by growing bitterness. Furihata-kun was his friend, and no matter how much he wanted Kagami-kun, he would not stand for this—this— _emotional cheating_. (And he was _no one’s_  rebound guy.)

“It’s fine,” he said. He felt the way his expression closed off in the slightest pinch at the corner of his eyes, and he watched Kagami finish cleaning his mess coolly. He waited until Kagami sat haltingly back in his seat, done pouring the drinks, before returning to his meal a little more viciously than intended. “Have you ever made spaghetti for  _Furihata-kun_ , Kagami-kun?”

*****

Kagami hesitated, mouth full of spaghetti and a single noodle trailing down his chin. He glanced up from his food that he dumped sauce on and attacked as soon as he was in his chair, just to find icy blue eyes staring at him over the bowl of breadsticks. That was…quite the look.  
  
He slurped the noodle and swallowed, one eyebrow arched in confusion. “Um, maybe? We usually have cheeseburgers though.”  
  
Kagami was just a bit confused. He wasn’t sure what Furihata had to do with spaghetti, honestly. It seemed like such a random thing for Kuroko to be curious about or concerned with. But maybe this was just his way of starting a conversation. It was better than what Kagami had with bad jokes about animated lions anyways.  
  
Grabbing a breadstick from the bowl, he ripped some off with his teeth. Then suddenly, he felt a chill rake down his spine, the hair rising on the back of his neck.  
  
In mid-chew of his bread, he glimpsed at Kuroko and nearly choked.  
  
If Kagami had to pick one word to describe those blue eyes that he had just been comparing to summer skies and ocean waves, it would be ‘ _terrifying’._ Kagami had seen grown dogs with gazes less scary than the one Kuroko was sending him now. Kagami’s own eyes widened in response.  
  
He swallowed, loudly. “The, uh, the spaghetti okay?”

*****

Kuroko had only managed to take one more bite when Kagami’s answer made him stop with his fork half twirled in the pasta. He stared at Kagami over the table, eyes sharp like broken glass. Burgers, he said? Usually, he said?

Kuroko felt a muscle in his jaw jump as he tried not to grind his back teeth. How many times had Furihata sat in his same seat, receiving special treatment from Kagami-kun? Eating the food Kagami prepared just for him, unknowing of the admiring gaze just across the table? A gaze that Kagami now falsely turned to him in an effort to make Kuroko a stand-in?

Kuroko exhaled through his nose slowly. Bitterness and anger warred with ever-present sadness. If it were anyone but Furihata, Kuroko could honestly say he might have been tempted a bit— _emotionally taken_  was only technical after all, and he was selfish enough that he would have snatched up the opportunity to turn Kagami’s affection toward him legitimately.

But it  _was_  Furihata, and he was Kuroko’s friend. He couldn’t do that someone he cared about, no matter how much he wanted Kagami for himself.

At Kagami’s nervous question, he took another bite of pasta. “It’s wonderful,” he said honestly. Swallowing the regret that lingered at his decision, Kuroko chose to try and subtly show his disapproval of Kagami’s attempts at emotionally cheating. “Perhaps  _next time_  he comes over you should try and make it for him, also. I’m sure _he_  would appreciate it.”

*****

He swallowed.  
  
He knew he hadn’t known Kuroko long. At least, not as long as those colorful assholes or Furihata anyways. Sometimes it felt like he’d known Kuroko for years, but the truth was that they’d only met a few short months ago. So, because of that, he knew that there must be sides of Kuroko he hadn’t seen before. He liked that though, that meant he could find more facets in that odd personality.  
  
This, however, was not what he expected. Or dreamed of sometimes. Not that he dreamed of being with Kuroko or anything.  
  
He was… _angry_?  
  
Kagami had seen him annoyed when Kise wouldn’t stop hugging him every time he successfully completed a dance move because “Kurokocchi’s so cute!” He’d seen him in complete and utter joy when Furihata presented him with a vanilla milkshake for a practice well done. He’d even seen him frustrated when he couldn’t quite hit that note that he wanted because his voice was too soft.  
  
But angry? Angry was something he’d never seen before. At least not like this. The anger he directed towards Aomine for his unnecessary and inappropriate jokes was much,  _much_ less icy. This somehow both insulted and scared Kagami.  
  
He swallowed again.  
  
“Well, I’m glad you, uh, l-like it?” The stab Kuroko gave his pasta said otherwise.   
  
Taking a smaller, more cautious bite of his bread, he mumbled around his food, “Furi doesn’t like pasta that much though. He likes teriyaki chicken more. I bet he’d appreciate the hell out of that!”  
  
He tried to laugh, but the knives in Kuroko’s gaze didn’t soften one bit, so it came out more like a dying cat

 wheeze in his throat.  
  
_Dammit, why was this going so bad?_  

*****

Furihata liked teriyaki chicken? Kuroko looked down at his plate, knowing that his lips were pulled tight. He’d known Furihata for two years and never noticed the preference. He usually went along with whatever the band was having, and if he brought them lunch, it was something that  _they_  enjoyed most.

But Kagami-kun had known, because Kagami-kun knew Furihata. Before Furihata had ever been their songwriter, he’d known Kagami. Their relationship had something Kuroko’s relationship with Kagami didn’t have: time. How was he meant to compete with time? How was he meant to compete at all, when it would mean hurting one or both of them?

Kuroko’s shoulders slouched, drawing in closer in a protective gesture he didn’t fully acknowledge. Angry and upset, when he went to twirl more pasta on his fork he was too rough and it scraped against the porcelain. The sound it made was high pitched and grating, but he didn’t wince.

The best thing he could do, he decided, was to spell it out for Kagami in the most partially-subtle way possible. If he could get Kagami to just admit it, so that he’d pursue Furihata seriously and stop this dancing around, maybe Kuroko would be able to move on and it wouldn’t hurt so much. (And he’d be able to rid himself of the flickering hope their delayed courtship kept alive in him.)

“Then you should have made that and invited  _him_  instead, don’t you think?” He took a small bite, but found it suddenly hard to eat anything more than that. He set down his fork and took a sip of water. “I’m sure you’d have a better time with him than me.”

*****

This was not going at all like he planned. This was not going at all like Tatsuya had said. And most of all, this was not anything close to what he had wanted.   
  
He vaguely realized that he had stopped eating as Kuroko sipped his water, and how odd that was considering there was still food on his plate. But he still couldn’t bring himself to pick up his fork. Not when the weight of the words Kuroko said were sitting in his stomach now.  
  
_“Use these in case of an emergency_.”  
  
It wasn’t like he had anything to lose, if the wincing screech of fork against porcelain and the defensive hunch of Kuroko’s shoulders were any hint, and this felt like an emergency. He tried to subtly brush his fork to the floor, though the motion wasn’t as smooth as he thought, since his hand was slightly trembling. He bent to pick it up, and reached into his pocket to grab the cards Tatsuya had gave him.  
  
He quickly flipped through them.  _Dodos? Falling from heaven? Cocoa trees? Limpid pools of blue?  
_  
_What the actual_ hell  _was Tatsuya thinking?  
_  
With a low sigh, he shoved the cards back into his jeans and knocked his forehead against the leg of the table in frustration. This was just…all wrong. Sitting back up, he suddenly couldn’t bring himself to meet Kuroko’s stare.   
  
He really was stupid, huh?  
  
He’d just been kidding himself. Kuroko was trying to be subtle about it, but at the end of it all, Kagami had just made a fool of himself. Kuroko never wanted to be on this date. He wasn’t interested in him. He never had been. And he probably never would be.  
  
After all, Kuroko, with his little smile and quiet voice and kind heart, was perfect and Kagami, with his too big build and awkward demeanor and stupid eyebrows, was…well, not.  
  
God, he was so stupid.  
  
“You know…” he began, and his voice was so low it barely passed his teeth.  
  
He stood and grabbed his plate before moving to grab Kuroko’s as well. His hands were still unsteady, but he managed to look into those blue eyes that’d been haunting him for months, that face that he’d wanted to kiss before falling asleep. That person that made his heart jump from the moment he first saw him.  
   
A slight sting built behind his eyes, just because he’d been  _so damn stupid_.  
  
“If you didn’t want to have dinner with me, you could have just said so.”

*****

Something was terribly wrong. Kuroko followed the line of Kagami’s hand (which was  _shaking_  ever so slightly) up his arm to the wetness hinted at Kagami’s lower eyelids. He looked so hurt, and it made something in Kuroko reel back in shock and confusion.

Why would Kagami-kun be upset? He had no reason to be. It was just him, just Kuroko, at this dinner. He wasn’t Furihata-kun. He didn’t deserve the attentions Kagami focused on him in lieu of the one he really wanted.

But Kagami was in pain, because of him. Those gentle hands were trembling, and those fierce, confident eyes were growing steadily more fragile in the sad mask of his expression. And it was his fault. It was Kuroko’s fault. (And that was something he could not allow.)

Desperation made him reach out and snatch the front of Kagami’s shirt with two fingers, and he abandoned all form of subtlety in favor of doing anything he could to rid Kagami of that painful visage. (Because the longer it was there, the more it hurt them both.)

“But I  _do_  want to have dinner with Kagami-kun!” His voice was raised slightly, and he was almost as shocked at it as he was at the undertone of pleading in his words. His tight grip slackened, though he didn’t release Kagami’s shirt. He had to look away as he forced himself to continue, hoping to mask at least some of his doleful longing. “I just don’t think it’s fair to Furihata-kun.”

*****

Kuroko’s voice echoed through his head and bounced off the walls of his apartment, making the room suddenly feel much smaller than what it was. He’d never heard Kuroko like that, had never heard that cotton voice stretch to fill the space around him. Kuroko’s voice was small, like him, but now the desperate tone lacing his words was taller than even Kagami.  
  
Kagami felt the heat of the hand tangled in his shirt like a burn, like a mark that was slowly sizzling its way under his skin. He wanted to take that hand in his own, wanted to compare the size of their palms even though he knew he would dwarf the ivory skin.  
  
Shit, it’s not like Kuroko could get even madder at him, right?  
  
He gently, carefully laid his rough, calloused hand over the cold, softer one on his chest. His hand was so much smaller than he thought, and Kagami’s nerve endings latched onto the feeling, determined to memorize the exact shape of that wrist. Gripping the slim knuckles, he opened his mouth to convey all he felt, to apologize for such a shitty dinner, to soothe the quiet panic shining in blue, blue eyes.  
  
Anything to make Kuroko shine delicately like he always did when he was happy.  
  
But all that came out was, “What the hell does Furi have to do with it?”  
  
Arching a brow, he tilted his head to the side and peered down at Kuroko, confusion muddling what little brainpower and pride he had left. What does Furihata have to do with dinner? Did Kuroko want a chaperone or something? He knew he didn’t know much about them, but even that was a little stiff for Japanese customs, wasn’t it?

*****

_Oh._  Kuroko stared at the warm hand engulfing his. Almost too warm, and Kuroko wondered if it was just him, or could he feel Kagami’s heartbeat through the palm pressed to the back of his hand? Or was that coming from his chest? Or maybe Kuroko was confusing it for the pounding of his own heart in his ears?

“Furihata-kun—,” he paused, seeking composure that for once felt like it didn’t want to come. “Furihata-kun has everything to do with this.”

He reluctantly withdrew from Kagami’s hold, folding his hands in his lap as he stared resolutely at his spaghetti (mangled as it was after his rough treatment). “Kagami-kun, while I am aware that you are…are in  _love_  with Furihata-kun,” and if the words hadn’t burned like acid in his throat he didn’t know what did, “and that you must be discouraged about his feelings towards you, I’m afraid I can no longer go along with such behavior. I can not allow you to hurt yourself or him any longer by playing the part of his stand-in.”

He flicked his eyes vaguely in Kagami’s direction, but couldn’t bring himself to look to his face. “I’m sure if you confess your feelings to Furihata-kun, they will be reciprocated. And I,” his hands tightened in his lap, white-knuckled as he forced himself to speak through the sudden weight of his tongue, “I will not have to act as a temporary replacement for him.”

Kuroko took a silent breath, feeling his shoulders droop as tension drained from his muscles. He’d said it. He’d finally said it. And despite the horrid ache it brought to his chest, to his stomach, and to the pressure behind his eyes, he was relieved to have it out in the open. No more pretending like he didn’t know, or entertaining false hopes. Finally, it could be resolved.

Kuroko dipped his head a tiny bit, as though preparing for an oncoming blow, and tried to tell himself he was ready for it.

*****

Kagami stared at Kuroko. He couldn’t think, couldn’t speak, couldn’t even bring himself to drag breath into his lungs to restart his brain. And so he just stared.  
  
_Him? Kagami Taiga? In_ love _with Furihata?  
_  
He slowly walked back over to his seat, and sat hard enough on the wood to draw out a creak. Bringing a hand to cover his face, flames of heat licking his cheeks, he felt his shoulders shake before anything else. Then he heard a distance chuckle, a quiet snicker, and it took a moment before he realized it was him. Once he realized it was himself laughing, he couldn’t stop, and it spilled out like a tiger’s roar, his body jolting with mirth.  
  
He didn’t mean to laugh, he knew it was serious (after all, Kuroko had used his serious voice and looked so defeated), but dammit, he just couldn’t stop laughing.  
  
Wiping a stray tear from one eye, he looked into those stupid, perfect blues that just looked back at him as if he’d lost his mind. Maybe he  _had_  lost his mind though. The relief that flooded his system, mixed with slight confusion, certainly washed his mind a fuzzy white, a fluffy cloud haze that just made his giggles slip out even louder.  
  
“I-I’m sorry, Kuroko,” he scrubbed a hand down his face, voice shaky with embarrassment. “It’s just, really?  _Me_? In love with  _Furi_? Where in the hell did you get that idea?!”  
  
Another guffaw leapt out from his chest, bringing more tears of laughter that he flicked away. Kuroko looked so  _little_ , his eyes darting around like he was waiting for the punchline, and Kagami had never felt such affection as he did in that moment. Even if they’d both been idiots, from the sounds of it.  
  
A genuine smile spread across his lips, teeth glinting in the light, “It looks like we’re both really stupid. Just so you realize,” he paused, his embarrassment catching up to the red of

 his cheekbones, “every time we had dinner, it was to, um…well, discuss our crushes.”  
  
He coughed, attempting to shrink on the spot while still somehow remaining big enough to speak, “I, uh, I would invite him over, so I could…” He glanced away to the falling breadstick arrangement, “So I could talk about, um, you. Yeah, so…”

*****

Kuroko wasn’t sure he was hearing Kagami correctly.

At first when Kagami had started laughing, he’d felt a pit drop in his stomach, thinking maybe Kagami was laughing at him, like he thought Kuroko was making a joke. He’d stared at him in confusion, darting his eyes over Kagami’s face as he tried to puzzle it out, waiting for the ball to drop. But then Kagami had calmed his apparent amusement, and the words that followed only sent Kuroko reeling  _more_.

Kagami-kun  _wasn’t_ in love with Furihata-kun? They had dinner to discuss  _crushes?_

Kuroko looked down at the table. He thought back. For months, the entire band had been suspecting Kagami and Furihata’s relationship. How at times they’d halt in the middle of conversations whenever a band member came within earshot. The knowing looks they sent each other across the room, and the flustered reactions that followed.

He remembered the sheer amount of gossip that had been spread by Aomine and the stupid betting pool he’d set up, Midorima’s blithe comments about the compatibility of their zodiacs, and the band’s easy belief that the two were obviously in love and dancing around each other for some reason. The only reason Akashi-kun hadn’t stepped in and made a move for Furihata was because they all believed him in love with Kagami—and it was the same with Kuroko, along with their mutual wish for the two to be genuinely happy.

But if that wasn’t true…he could only imagine Akashi’s reaction to discovering that they’d been  _wrong_ , so _wrong,_  this entire time. Especially if…

He raised his chin. “Does Furihata-kun talk about Akashi-kun?” That would be the ultimate irony, he thought. If Furihata was talking about Akashi while Kagami was talking about him—and all at once a moment of clarity rang in his head. Kuroko’s eyes shot up to Kagami’s as he let the last of his words sink in.

“Kagami-kun has a crush on me.” It wasn’t even a question. He stared, fixated and mouth set in a straight line. “Kagami-kun  _likes_ me.”

*****

He watched as the little wrinkle bet

ween Kuroko’s brows appeared, as it always did when Kuroko seemed to be thinking deeply about something. Just what in the  _world_ gave him the idea that he was in love with Furi? He had a sneaking suspicion it had at least  _something_  to do with a certain dark blue Justin Timberlake wannabe, and the thought made him growl cause damn, if that idiot didn’t have to ruin everything.  
  
Then Kuroko’s words hit him like that basketball to his face when he was twelve.  
  
“I-Idiot!” He shot from his chair with wide eyes, grabbing a breadstick before reaching over and shoving it in Kuroko’s mouth. Anything to stop him from saying more embarrassing things, for his own safety and sanity if nothing else.  
  
Peeking up from behind his fringe into a wide, unblinking stare, he felt a wriggle of fear that he would never return to his normal complexion again. His face was so hot, and it was slowly spreading down the back of his neck. He had to look so ridiculous, but no amount of internal coaxing was calming him. In fact, staring at Kuroko was making it worse.  
  
“Don’t…Don’t s-say it so casually!” he stuttered, voice shaking like his legs, a deer caught in too blue headlights.  
  
He dropped back into his seat, covering his face with his hands. God, why did he have to be so awkward? He’d talked about Kuroko enough to Furihata that he should at least be confident enough to acknowledge that,  _Hell yeah, he likes Kuroko, and he’ll declare it to the world with a bellow and a shout and fight off all the fangirls that would surely be out for his head and he’ll do it all with a smile because hell yeah, he likes Kuroko_.  
  
But instead all that came out was a stream of noises and broken sentences that sounded vaguely like, “Shit, shit, shit, this is embarrassing, fuck.”  
  
He finally managed to peer at Kuroko from between his fingers, his rough palms muffling his low explanation, “Yeah, I kind of like you. Sort of. A lot. Me and Furi have dinner at least twice a week, just so I can get it off my chest and he can talk about Akashi. Sorry.”  
  
He promptly hid his horrible tomato face in his hands again.

*****

Kuroko made a small noise when the breadstick was shoved in his mouth, hardly expecting Kagami to take such an action. He stared past the bread to Kagami’s red face, listening, expressionless, as the other confirmed all of his vague hopes. In the silence that followed, Kuroko hardly moved.

He looked between the end of the breadstick and Kagami, and reached up. Grabbing it, he bit off the end in his mouth. He chewed. “This is good,” he noted idly, and set the remaining piece of bread on the table.

And then he blinked, his eyes crinkling at the corners while the tips of ears burned beneath his hair. He smiled, a minimal thing, as his chest swelled with relief and pleasure and joy and far more than he was used to experiencing all at once. It was nearly overwhelming, especially with the rush of affection from Kagami’s eyes peeking from behind his hands brought swelling up his throat.

“Why are you sorry?” Kuroko said. And his next words were spoken with no hesitance—why would they be, when Kagami had practically served Kuroko exactly what he wanted like it was the night’s dinner? “I like Kagami-kun, too.”

His eyes flickered to the side from leftover embarrassment, and he hoped his blush didn’t show on the bridge of his nose and that it wasn’t too obvious how hard he was gripping the table cloth.

*****

Kagami’s not sure when he noticed that he’d dropped his hands to his lap, or when he started gaping openly at Kuroko, but even after he did, he couldn’t bring himself to do anything else. His face probably looked ridiculous, with his mouth open and eyebrows raised, but shit, he couldn’t bring himself to care.  
  
_Kuroko liked him? Him, as in Kagami? Fuck, Kuroko liked_ him _?  
_  
His face promptly exploded with color, and he realized he was never going to survive tonight. At least not with his normal skin tone. Especially as he took in the light pink dusting over Kuroko’s ears and nose, hands twisted in the tablecloth, because it somehow made his embarrassment even worse (though he was now curious if Kuroko’s face would be as warm as he thought against his palms).  
  
Happiness roared in his chest, the loudest of beats, and he just wanted to share this with Kuroko. He wanted them to like each other and not have all these weird misunderstandings and just eat this damn dinner. Then maybe after that they could sit and watch a movie, some dumb romantic comedy, and Kagami could maybe even hold his hand or possibly kiss him to see if he really tasted like cotton candy. Most of all though, he just really wanted to tell Kuroko that he liked him over and over and over…  
  
He willed his open mouth to actually form words, ready to declare his affection for this perfect, stupid idiot.  
  
“You wanna stay the night?” He heard himself say before his teeth clacked together and he slapped a hand over his traitor mouth. 

*****

Kuroko had to bite his lip to hold back the surprised noise that wanted to lurch from his throat. As it was, his mind rapid-fire shot through all the possible scenarios that could occur with him and Kagami-kun in Kagami-kun’s bed. (His nails on that strong back; his teeth nibbling the length of that strong neck an those broad shoulders; their bodies slotted together with nothing between.)

It was like all of the daydreams and fantasies he’d secretly entertained for the past several months were being played out in his mind’s theater all at once, and it was all he could do not to let himself express the arousal that wanted to pool in his hips. Logically, he knew Kagami-kun wasn’t the type to rush into something as new as their reciprocated feelings proved to be, and that the mortified expression on his face immediately after he’d spoken the words supported that. Whatever intentions Kagami had, they were more than likely far more innocent than his question made them seem.

A little disappointing, maybe, but Kuroko understood it. Still, he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to tease.

“Of course,” he answered, voice even and as light as he could make it when he wasn’t singing. The right sound of his mouth twitched up. He reached up to swipe his thumb over his lower lip, like he was wiping away a crumb, and then licked the soft pad of the digit. “Although, I am a bit mad.”

*****

Throat bobbing, Kagami watched the pink of Kuroko’s tongue intently, and he swore he could feel it like it was on his own skin. He was definitely not making it through the night with any other shade than red on his face. He shifted in his seat, suddenly aware of how little the room was and how hot the room was and how Kuroko’s eyes were crawling over him and he was definitely not going to make it.  
  
Wait a second, Kuroko was  _mad_?  
  
“W-what?! Why?!” he shouted, because did Kagami’s confession piss him off or something? Or had he done something in this whole mess of things? As far as he knew, he was completely innocent!  
  
Okay, maybe his thoughts weren’t so innocent, but he kept those to himself.  
  
Him and Furi had just been acting as they always had, ever since they had met back in high school. If anything, Kuroko and the rest of those rainbow idiots were the guilty ones! They created this whole mess, somehow constructing this crazy idea of him wanting anyone other than Kuroko and knowing with how over-the-top they all were, there were probably things they came up with that Kagami never wanted to know about.  
  
He met Kuroko’s gaze again and swallowed hard. Somehow, he got a bad feeling about this, but it didn’t seem like such a bad feeling when his stomach did a somersault.

*****

“Because, I could have been spending the night with Kagami-kun this whole time.” He said it like it was obvious.

Standing, Kuroko circled the table, running the fingertips of his right hand delicately across the tablecloth. When he reached the other, he gently batted Kagami’s suddenly boneless arms out of the way away and slipped into his lap. He rested himself on Kagami’s thighs. His eyes skimmed the exposed skin of Kagami’s v-neck, and Kuroko couldn’t help gripping those strong shoulders as he resisted the temptation to explore it with his teeth. (Especially the line of his collar bone that peeked from under the cloth.)

Instead, he pursed his lips, and bit the inside of his cheek. Kuroko finally chanced a look at Kagami’s face, and the glow in those red eyes made his breath puff over his lips with the tiniest of sounds. Attempting to keep some modicum of control over the situation (and himself), Kuroko sat back a bit and raised his chin. He released Kagami’s shoulder, and reached for the top button on his shirt. Kuroko flicked it open one-handed.

“But it’s alright,” he said lowly, and now the back of his neck was burning like his ears. “We can make up for all that time tonight.”

*****

Really, Kagami couldn’t be blamed.  
  
It couldn’t possibly be his fault when Kuroko looked like he did, pressed into Kagami’s lap like he did, and did that  _fucking attractive thing with his shirt_  like he did. He’d tried, he’d been trying for months, but something about Kuroko always made everything he tried useless. He was powerless under the ghosting of slim fingers, and he never really stood a chance.  
  
So really, Kagami couldn’t be blamed for grabbing hold of bony hips, tugging them as close as he could manage before clumsily slamming his lips against Kuroko’s with a clack of teeth.  
  
He reached with one arm and knocked what remained of the breadstick bouquet to the floor, hooking his arms under thighs he’d dreamed of biting to lift Kuroko onto the table with a scatter of rose petals. Lips brushing against soft pink, he ran his hands over expanding ribs and a waist made for his arms. He could feel every little muscle shift, the heat of every breath, and Kuroko was so close but he wasn’t close enough, and he didn’t think he’d ever get to do this. And it was so much better than anything his dumb imagination could come up with.  
  
Dammit, he really liked Kuroko.  
  
Drawing Kuroko’s lower lip into his mouth, he released it with a gentle snap of incisors. He ignored how flushed his face was, hoping he could blame it on the moment, and tried his best to sound seductive, “Better not waste any more time then, huh?”

*****

Kuroko’s surprised groan at suddenly finding himself on his back on the table was muffled by their rough, eager kiss. He wrapped his legs around Kagami’s waist as though it were something he’d practiced (given the number of times he’d _imagined_  it, though, he might argue that he  _had_  been), and used the leverage to pull the other as close as possible. His hands swept up Kagami’s neck to tangle in the hair at the back of his head.

So, maybe he’d wrong. Maybe Kagami-kun was more open to rushing into things than he’d thought. Maybe he wanted it just as badly as Kuroko did. The idea made him let out a chuckle that was immediately stifled by Kagami’s tongue in his mouth.

With a smooth, practiced roll of his spine he ground his hips up into Kagami’s. Kuroko tugged Kagami’s hair to separate their lips just enough so he could nip at the sharp line of his jaw.

“Kagami-kun,” he murmured, pulling back so that their mouths brushed as he spoke, “I’ve been waiting.”

What he’d been waiting  _for_ , exactly, he didn’t say. It could have been a lot of things.

But he had a feeling Kagami knew them all.

*****

A low growl rattled up his throat, the sting of teeth on his jawline much more pleasant than he’d ever thought it’d be. Tangling a hand in sky blue hair, his fingertips pressed into the sharpness of slender hips as Kuroko rolled against him. He pressed his lips back to Kuroko’s and down his neck, memorizing the shape of his Adam’s apple with his tongue.  
  
They were spiraling out of control, what little control they’d had. But he didn’t mind. Not if it meant he could stay pressed between Kuroko’s legs like this. Not even if his face stayed permanently red.  
  
He pulled back and stared into wide eyes and glowing cheeks, and let the solid weight of Kuroko sink into his skin. Wrapping his arms around Kuroko (he was so  _small_  compared to Kagami’s long limbs), he decided maybe they should just forget about dinner for now, and instead began carrying Kuroko to his bedroom, grinning at the squeeze of legs around his waist.  
  
He was really glad Tatsuya had told him to spread some rose petals there, just in case.  
  
Holding Kuroko as close as he could, face buried in the line of his neck as his teeth followed its curve, he breathed heavily in Kuroko’s still pink ears as the bedroom door creaked open, “Yeah, me too…”

*****

“They’re  _late_ ,” Aomine sang, head tilted over the back of the couch, watching the main entrance to the band’s lounge room from upside-down. He rolled his chin forward for a moment to give Akashi a squinted look. “Where’s Furihata? Shouldn’t he be here to make sure Tetsu didn’t give in and ravish his soon-to-be boyfriend?”

“Furihata-kun is in a meeting with Momoi-san,” Akashi replied calmly from the armchair, though the sudden white-knuckled grip on the book he’d been reading was anything but. “He’s going over one of the new songs with her.”

Aomine whistled. “Emotionally dating or not, that’s an awful lot of trust considering it’s an idiot like Kagami we’re talking about.”

“Their horoscopes  _are_  hovering in the middle of luck today,” Midorima noted. “The outcome could go either way.”

Akashi’s pointed silence and sharp glance kept Aomine and Midorima from commenting any further. Murasakibara was too busy eating potato chips and texting Himuro to really care.

“Ma, don’t say things like Aominecchi,” Kise berated, plopping down beside Aomine. “Kurokocchi wouldn’t do that to Furihatacchi.”

Aomine opened his mouth to retort, but the opening door cut him off. The band collectively turned to look as Kagami and Kuroko walked in. Kuroko wearing Kagami’s shirt.  _Holding hands._

“What the  _fuck_ , Tetsu,” Aomine exclaimed, gaze zeroed in on their tangled fingers.

“Kurokocchi!” Kise’s mouth gaped in outright horror. “You can’t help Kagamicchi emotionally cheat on Furihatacchi!”

“I’m not,” Kuroko said, neutral as ever. “And he isn’t.” He looked Akashi straight in the eye. “We were  _wrong._ ”

Akashi took a moment to absorb those words.

And then he was out the door in the most composed sprint Kuroko had ever seen. In the shocked silence that followed, they heard an office door get yanked open down the hall, and a few moments later a loud, surprised yelp.

“Does this mean Mido-chin wins the bet?” Murasakibara drawled from his seat, cross-legged on the floor by the coffee table.

“Bet?” Kagami asked over the sound of Aomine’s sudden cursing, raising an eyebrow and staring dryly down at his new boyfriend.

“It’s a long story,” Kuroko said.

Kagami squeezed his hand. “Good thing I’ve got a lot of time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See chapter 2 for Himuro Tatsuya's 'Get Taiga Laid' Playlist.


	2. Himuro Tatsuya’s ‘Get Taiga Laid’ Playlist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exactly what it says on the tin.

So. Some of you might remember the mixed CD Himuro gave Kagami to play during the dinner (troll of trolls that he is).

But were any of you curious what all the songs on that CD were?

Worry not, friends. Tetsucchin and I actually took time to put together the entire playlist when we first came up with the idea. Here it is, with added linkage! ( _Bolded songs are referenced/quoted in the roleplay itself._ )

[Holding Out For A Hero](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fpjuoKhfJo), by Bonnie Tyler ( _If you have not seen this video you are missing something in your life I swear to God it’s so fucking 80s.)_

[Wind Beneath My Wings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jorJh8DTMVM), by Bette Midler (Aaaah, so classic.)

[A Whole New World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kl4hJ4j48s), from Aladdin (Mmmm ye so seductive.)

[As Long As You Love Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gl2QnHNpkA), by the Backstreet Boys (You know we gotta have some Backstreet in this list.)

[**Bella Notte**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySeAjfgoFtw), from Lady and the Tramp (The song that inspired the whole spaghetti dinner in the first place. “And do you know  _why_ Tramp gets the girl?  _It’s because he took her on a damn good date, Taiga._ ”)

[Everything I Do (I Do It For You)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGoWtY_h4xo), by Bryan Adams (Such cheese. Much romantic.)

[**Can You Feel the Love Tonight**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1hcc1QvM2Q), from the Lion King, by Elton John (WHAT A PANTY DROPPER WOAH NOW TATSUYA TAKE IT EASY HE WANTS TO WOO THE BOY NOT MELT HIM.)

[Hero](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koJlIGDImiU), by Enrique Iglesias (This song  _had_  to be included. No exceptions. It’s the rule.)

[I Will Always Love You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWTaaS7LdU), by Whitney Houston (Listen to those acoustics just  _listen, Taiga._ )

[**My Heart Will Go On**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tuvz_9D7Ok), by Celine Dion (Why? Because, “It’s  _Celine Dion,_  Kagami-kun.”)

[Find Me Somebody To Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pMM4iwC-ag), by Queen ( _It’s fucking Queen you can’t do better than that. Freddy Mercury. Dude.)_

[Your Man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nADTbWQof7Y), by Josh Turner (His voice is so deep it makes me uncomfortable, and not in the fun way.)


End file.
